Experiential Learning

Doing the Real Work

When we ask participants why they choose UVEI, the top answer, consistently, is that they are attracted to learning by doing. “You are expected to do the real work,” said Laurie Greenberg, assistant principal at Mt. Abraham Union Middle and High School, and principal program graduate.

In other words, this is not a drill.

Experiential Learning

At UVEI, the experience precedes learning. Educators are trying things BEFORE they have all the knowledge and skills they need. We are firmly committed to the power of experiential learning, and we hear frequently from participating educators that a new practice they attempted resulted in failure, but with that failure comes a powerful new understanding of the desired practice, and a sense of progress.

Learn by Doing

The power of real and dramatic experience to challenge, motivate, and inspire has been at the core of our philosophy since UVEI’s founding in 1969. As Barbara Barnes, the founder of UVEI, put it “You cannot learn to teach from a book or sitting in a class. You have to learn by doing it.”